Integrated Accountability System Embracing Opportunities and

Building a New Tomorrow

                                                            

      

                                                          

                 

Basic Accountability Questions

• What needs to be done and where?

• How much time and dollars will it take?

• Do we have the necessary resources and are

they in the right place and have the right skills?

• What is being done and how long did it take to

do for how many dollars?

• What environmental benefits were achieved?

IAS Vision

• Integrated accountability system• Web-based, user-friendly• Standard reports, available to public and

employees• Customized analyses for leadership• Data warehouse with linked databases• Access defined by position to ensure security• Data entered only once• Decision Support System – Scenario building

• Fully involving Partnership in on-going development and enhancement of IAS

• Integrating Budgeting, Allocations, Strategic and Annual Planning, and Performance Measurement

• Providing training to agency and partnership in accountability system

• Use of Knowledge in Management Reviews and Oversight and Evaluation

Steps to Elevating Accountability

Integrated Accountability System

President’s Management Agenda

In August the President launched a Management Reform Agenda targeted to "address the most apparent deficiencies where the opportunity to improve performance is the greatest." Working with the President’s Management Council, the OMB developed standards for success in each of the five government-wide initiatives:

Strategic Management of Human Capital; Expanded Electronic Government;

Competitive Sourcing; Improved Financial Performance; and Budget and Performance Integration.

President’s Management Agenda

An Executive Branch Management Scorecard will be used to show:

How well a department or agency is executing the management initiatives, and

Where it scores at a given point in time against the overall standards for success.

This scorecard will be provided to the Department and the President on a regular basis.

President’s Management Agenda

The progress side will track whether a department’s work plan for the initiatives is being successfully executed according to established timetables.

In the OMB pass back in November 2001, the Department received their scorecard for the five initiatives. The current status show a red status for all initiatives except E-Government which is yellow.

President’s Management Agenda

In the Budget and Performance Integration Initiative:

OMB stated that the Department shall:

“ provide revised performance plans that integrate planning and budgeting…and demonstrate progress in linking budget resources with program performance….”

Goals of the IAS

• A complete system with all data integrated

• Easy access – web based – user friendly

• Minimized field reporting and side records

• Maximized information usage

• Centralized data links

• Responsive to customers/conservation partners

• Development of WebFarm

• Common Data Dictionary

• Full Integration of Planning, Managing, Accounting, Reporting

Full IAS Component Integration

• Performance and Results Measurement System

• Time and Cost Accounting (TCAS)

• Quarterly Goals

• Conservation Journal (future)

• Conservation Information System (CIS)

Improved Accountability Tools

• Create visibility for national Create visibility for national goals at the local levelgoals at the local level

•Recognize that all national Recognize that all national goals are implemented locallygoals are implemented locally

• Build a system valued both Build a system valued both by national and local usersby national and local users

Strategic Planning

Geographically-based Decision Support System

• Natural Resource and Socio-economic Needs

• Short- and Long-term Workload

• Current and Future Workforce and Skills

• “Real-time” Performance Reporting

• Integration of Needs and Performance

• Geographically-based Information

NRCS Strategic Goals

• Enhance natural resource productivity to enable a strong agricultural and natural resource sector.

• Reduce unintended adverse effects of natural resource development and use to ensure a high quality environment

• Reduce risks from flooding and drought to protect public health and safety

• Deliver high quality services to the public to enable natural resource stewardship

National Resources Inventory

Resource Concerns - WLA2001

Resource Concerns - WLA2001• 7 major resource concerns

National Census of Agriculture, 1997

Conservation Programs

Workload Analysis•Describes the time required by discipline for what employees do at the field level as described in 28 Core Work Products. •Captures the core field activities and the time to accomplish them for the NRCS field staff and our Conservation Partners field staff.

•Used to estimate the staff years required to complete fiscal year projected workload and total resource conservation needs.

Cropland Conservation Need -Staff Year Investment & Acreage Treated

-

5,000,000

10,000,000

15,000,000

20,000,000

1,720 1,920 2,150 2,400 2,690 3,010 3,370 3,770 4,210 4,710 5,270 5,900

Annual Staff Year Investment

Cro

pla

nd

Acr

es T

reat

ed(A

nn

ual

ly)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

An

nu

al C

on

serv

atio

n N

eed

Ad

dre

ssed

(Per

cen

t)

Acres Treated

Percent AnnualNeed Addressed

22,500,000

Current Condition FY 2001

5-Year Proposed Strategic PlanPerformance Goal

Workload Analysis by Partnership

Skill Needs Assessment for Conservation PlanningWorkload Analysis

Workforce Management

• Field- and State Office-level Staff• NRCS and Partnership• Permanent vs. Temporary• Filled vs. Vacant

Are staff sufficiently trained?Are staff in the “right” place?Is there the correct mix of skills?What skills do our partnerships bring?

Workforce Planning

Assist leadership in making staffing determinations that will result in securing the appropriate skills needed to meet the customers’ changing needs.

•Identifies skills needed

and potential gaps•Forecasts and projects •Based on resource needs

and locally led priorities•Identifies strategies to bridge gaps

Geospatial Coverages

CongressionalDistricts

FederalLands

Soils Major LandResource Areas

Counties Land ResourceRegions

Soil ConservationDistricts

2, 4, 6, and 8digit Hydrologic

Units

FY2001 Performance by County

FY2001 Performance by Congressional District

Objective: Maintain, restore, and enhance cropland productivity

• Promote conservation planning and management that addresses multiple soil factors

• Focus efforts on the most serious erosion problems;

• Promote crop residue management to increase soil organic matter and store carbon;

• Strengthen assistance to help operators to remain in compliance with HEL provisions;

• Assist operators to examine alternatives for cropland where existing systems are inadequate to protect the resource.

Maintaining soil productivity depends on controlling erosion and maintaining organic content, tilth, soil fauna, and soil chemical balance. These challenges vary in degree by state and region across the Nation. While much progress has been made in addressing conservation needs, more remains to be done.

Baseline - In 1999, about 232 million cropland acres (or 61 percent of total cropland) were found to be in need of conservation treatment to sustain productivity and quality.

NRI

Measures & Targets

WLA

Strategies -

PRMSObjective: Maintain, restore, and enhance cropland productivity (continued)

Recent Accomplishments - During Fiscal Year 2000:• 10,200,000 acres of Conservation Plans were applied

on Cropland to the Resource Management System level.

• 4,100,000 acres of cropland that were eroding above two times the soil’s tolerable level are now protected against excessive erosion

Conservation Systems Applied on Cropland to the Resource Management System (Acres)

Source: NRCS, Performance and Results Measurement System data, 2001

• Resource Management Systems Applied on Cropland (Acres)

• Excessive Erosion Controlled on Cropland (Acres)

• Conservation Tillage Applied on Cropland (Acres)

Related AnnualPerformance Measures -

Performance Target - • By 2005, 89 percent the annual

conservation need will be met - 20 million acres will be treated each year.

FY 2001 Performance Goals - • 11 million cropland acres with

conservation systems applied• 4 million cropland acres protected

against excessive erosion

Annual Performance Goals

Business Planning

• Completed at the National, Regional, State levels.• “Roadmap” to successful completion of goals.• Contains real, concrete, tangible actions with specific completion dates, and responsible individuals.• Updated at least quarterly.

PRMS Simplified Data Entry (SDE)

Conservation Tillage Applied

Current PRMSCurrent PRMS Simplified Data Entry PRMSSimplified Data Entry PRMSCustomer Assisted

Conservation Systems

Erosion Control

Map-based Data EntrySimplified System

• Map-based data entry

Simplified Input & Reporting

Resource Need vs. Performance

Resource Need Performance

State and Local Options

State and Local Programs State and Local Measures

State and Local Options - Meets Accountability Data Needs at the State Level

•Voluntary

•Consistent with National PRMS guidelines

•Does not duplicate national measures

•Includes Partners in data needs decisions

•Customizable by the user to specific counties

Salt load reduction data

State program data Staff providing service data

State and Local Options Data

Time and Cost Accounting

• Salaries and Benefits of Employees by Activity and Program

SL—State and Local Programs

•This code is available to states for capturing time associated with assistance to State or local programs.

• Monitored programs will be selected by the State Conservationist and will be assigned a 6-digit code.

•State & Local Programs will be linked to appropriate national programs & modifiers

TCAS Provides Time

Standard Reports Available to County &

Office Level

Or Download and Create Your Own

Custom Reports Using Access or Excel

Journal Approach

Quick date selection

Journal approach adds convenience.

One screen lists multiple journal

entries. Can select for edit by simple click.

Collects Journal information such as:

• Date and Time• Customer Reference• Program• Activity• Program Modifier• Affiliation• Location• Multiple Performance Measures

Conservation Journal Approach

Conservation Journal Approach

Simplified, single-entry screen for user-selected performance

measures, driven by what the user selected on the prior screen.

Entry fields for multiple measures (example shows 3) appear on the same

screen. No need to enter customer information, location, program or

affiliation multiple times.

Conservation Journal Approach

Review data entered, make edits and submit.

Conservation Journal submits data to both

PRMS and Web TCAS.

Conservation Partnership Timecould be stored in data warehouse for contributions reports and partnership

use such as timekeeping.

Conservation Journal

• Optional

• Can enter time and performance

• Will populate Web TCAS and PRMS

• Flexible—State and local options

• Useful by partners

What’s In It for the Partnership?

• Saves time• Improves efficiency• New system for time and performance• Available anywhere, anytime• Management tool for all levels• Partners can use it• Improves data integrity• Validates what we do as an Agency• Takes advantage of latest technology

Quarterly Goals - Benefits

• Supports field bottom up approach of working with the partners

• Provides NRCS and Partners a real-time management tool

• Simple and easy web-based software

FY2002 Performance Goal-setting Input ScreenGoals by Conservation Program by Quarter

Completion of the quarterly goal process• Gather resource data

– NRI, AG Census, etc– WLA FY amount for county– PRMS 2000 and 2001 accomplishments– 2001 performance goals (if available)

• Develop County Goals• Subdivide goals by applicable program

– Use of PRMS Summary report by program

• Develop goals by quarter– Use of PRMS Summary report by quarter

• Enter Data

CIS – Example of Quarterly Goal Report

Conservation Information System

What is the Conservation Information System?

• a tool that provides direct on-line access to relevant information in a useful and navigable format;

• timely, accurate, and navigable;

• allows management at all levels in the conservation partnership to easily access data for: management, analysis and planning; and

• renamed from the Executive Information System to convey usefulness to users at all levels.

The NRCS CIS should accommodate the following user groups:

• Congress• NRCS and District Field Employees• Top Management• National, Regional, and State Office Employees• Conservation Partners • General Public (linked to FirstGov)

What is the Conservation Information System?

•The Conservation Information System (CIS) is a tool that provides direct on-line access to relevant information in a useful and navigable format.

•The CIS is timely, accurate, and navigable.

•Allows management at all levels in the conservation partnership to easily access data for: management, analysis and planning

The NRCS CIS should accommodate the following user groups:

• Congress• NRCS and District Field Employees• Top Management• National, Regional, and State Office Employees• Conservation Partners • General Public (linked to FirstGov)

CIS Report Examples

CIS Standard Report

CIS Ad-hoc Report

CIS Report Metadata

Conservation Information System

Goals, Progress, and Performance by County and Affiliation Report Example

• Development of WebFarm

• Common Data Dictionary

• Full Integration of Planning, Managing, Accounting, Reporting

Full IAS Component Integration

• Integration of Assorted Databases into WebFarm

• Use of Assorted Analytical Tools

• On-line Analytical Processing (OLAP)

• Customized User Views Through Portal Technology

Progression from Data to Knowledge

Example Trending Analysis

Cropland Conservation Need -Staff Year Investment & Acreage Treated

-

5,000,000

10,000,000

15,000,000

20,000,000

1,720 1,920 2,150 2,400 2,690 3,010 3,370 3,770 4,210 4,710 5,270 5,900

Annual Staff Year Investment

Cro

pla

nd

Acr

es T

reat

ed(A

nn

ual

ly)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

An

nu

al C

on

serv

atio

n N

eed

Ad

dre

ssed

(Per

cen

t)

Acres Treated

Percent AnnualNeed Addressed

22,500,000

Current Condition FY 2001

5-Year Proposed Strategic PlanPerformance Goal

In closing...

“Much has been made of the fact that government management

have no “bottom line” of profit and loss by which success can be

measured. But bottom line for government does exist. Goals can

be set, deadlines established, and output measured. Hard

decisions can be made and progress accomplished. The bottom

line in government is not profits; it is performance. And it is that

bottom line for which we are accountable to the public, the

Congress, and the President.”

Alan Campbell, Former Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management(Quote from “Management” Magazine)

Thank you!